Review: Maximum Ride, Vol. 1

Maximum Ride, Vol. 1 by James Patterson

My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
Received: Publisher
Publication Date: January 27th, 2009
Publisher: Yen Press
Point of View: Alternative
Recommended Age: 11+
Pacing: Fast
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Manga, Action, Science Fiction

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BLURB:

Fourteen-year-old Maximum Ride, better known as Max, knows what it’s like to soar above the world. She and all the members of the “flock”—Fang, Iggy, Nudge, Gasman and Angel—are just like ordinary kids—only they have wings and can fly. It may seem like a dream come true to some, but their lives can morph into a living nightmare at any time… like when Angel, the youngest member of the flock, is kidnapped and taken back to the “School” where she and the others were experimented on by a crew of wack jobs.

Her friends brave a journey to blazing hot Death Valley, CA, to save Angel, but soon enough, they find themselves in yet another nightmare—this one involving fighting off the half-human, half-wolf “Erasers” in New York City. Whether in the treetops of Central Park or in the bowels of the Manhattan subway system, Max and her adopted family take the ride of their lives. Along the way Max discovers from her old friend and father-figure Jeb—now her betrayed and greatest enemy—that her purpose is save the world—but can she?

Not very long ago, I read the first novel in the MAXIMUM RIDE series and quite enjoyed the action, characters and story. But, as I was reading it, I kept wondering what it would be like to *see* this series.

So we sadly don’t have a TV show of this, but we do have a manga series (and a badly rated digital movie).

And it’s pretty damn exceptional.

Fortunately, there aren’t huge changes made to the plot at all. It’s still about Angel being kidnapped and Max and her crew going to rescue her, but stumbling across/being followed by tons of Erasers.

The only major thing that I felt changed from novel to manga was Fang. In the novel, he seemed… almost bestial. Not at all friendly. Yet, in the manga, we see him smile quite a few times and care about Max quite a bit. He didn’t seem unfriendly at all.

You have no idea how good it was to be able to put a face to these characters, especially since there are a good couple of them. Granted, the majority look like dolls in the manga, which probably could have at least been a little more prevented, but Narae Lee drew them with originality still.

And she draws such beautiful/life-like backgrounds.

I breezed through this manga. It’s action-packed, interesting, emotional and so easy to get lost in.

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